Matt Reports: "After 20 days of patiently waiting
at St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge, my patience paid off. The
last two Whooping Cranes in Florida, #906 and #912, left their
St. Marks pen at 11:45 a.m.,
22 days after their eight pen-mates had departed. The weather was
not favorable for migration. As I started tracking their flight,
I found that strong east winds blew the birds far to the west.
In fact, although only 40 miles due south of the Georgia border,
these two would
be blown over 50 miles west into Alabama. Once away from the coast,
the winds shifted. The chicks got, quite literally, a second wind
as they entered the Cotton State. A stronger south wind shot them
north across Montgomery, bypassing all the rush hour traffic that
bogged down their tracker (me!). After seven and a half hours of
migrating, they settled in for the night in Chilton County, Alabama,
235 miles from St. Marks NWR." Here they come!

Eva tracked
or followed progress of the group of 8, with chicks #901,904,905,924 and 929 and
3 older birds (827,829 and 830) who
all left Chass together. Details of their migration stories are
on
their
bio pages. On April 10 Eva also checked on the
group of eight St. Mark's
birds
(908,910,911,914,915, 918,925 and
926)
who were
doing fine and all
still
together
at their Green Lake County, Wisconsin, stopover. Female 907 is
traveling alone and currently in Kankakee County, Illinois. "I
have a feeling she is going to be one of those wayward females.
Richard
is still tracking her," said Eva this week.